This ride-hailing company doesn't want visually-impaired riders to miss out on self-driving technology

Lyft has collaborated with the National Federation of the Blind over the past couple of years to help make sure that low vision as well as blind riders are able to access ride-sharing services.

Lyft self-driving taxi&nbsp

Lyft, a multinational company that provides ride-hailing services, recently announced that it has teamed up with the US-based National Federation of the Blind and Aptiv so as to bring extend the availability of self-driving technology to its community of visually-challenged riders.

The company noted that over the past couple of years, it has collaborated closely with the National Federation of the Blind, an organization for visually-impaired individuals, to help make sure that low vision as well as blind riders are able to access its ridesharing services as it endeavours to improve awareness about blind passengers’ rights, help create inclusive public policies, and extend the availability of transportation options for these communities.

In a statement, Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said, "Autonomous vehicles have the potential to provide a level of mobility and independence that blind people have never experienced, enhancing our ability to live the lives we want. We are pleased to collaborate with Lyft and Aptiv, companies that recognize the importance of incorporating input from the blind so that driving will be accessible to all. This demonstration will allow future blind drivers to experience and begin providing feedback about this technology, paving the way for the development of a nonvisual user interface and other inclusive design elements."

So, exactly how will this work? Lyft said it teamed up with LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired to put together Braille guides for self-driving riders so as to provide a more interactive and informative self-driving experience for them. These informative materials include a Braille diagram of the self-driving vehicle along with a Braille map of the route their self-driving vehicle will take.

It must be noted that this won't be Lyft's first tryst with Aptive or its autonomous technology. In fact, the company, together with Aptiv, launched its public self-driving pilot in Las Vegas last year. And in just a year, the two managed to provide more than 50,000 self-driving rides to the ridesharing service's customers.